In Search of a "Benevolent Despot": John T. Emlen and the Establishment of the First Colored Boys' Club, 1903-1913

Savage, Carter Julian

Peabody Journal of Education, v88 n4 p421-448 2013

This article examines the establishment and early history of the first Boys' Club for African American boys--the Wissahickon Boys' Club--through the thoughts and actions of its Quaker founder, John Thompson Emlen. The purpose of this article is not only to document the founding of this historic organization but also to describe Emlen's conception of racial advancement through the implementation of vocational education programs within the context of a "colored" Boys' Club. In examining Emlen's thesis and subsequent work, the article analyzes the similarities of his ideas to W. E. B. DuBois's charge to White Americans in "The Philadelphia Negro."